1. You’ve Had At Least 3 “Crash & Burns” in The Last Year.

If you’ve put time and effort into a person, gone out with them several times, had “sleepovers,” changed your relationship status on Facebook, they’ve met your family – and you’ve done this at least 3 times in the last year – a dating “time-out” may be in order.

Not only must you be truly exhausted, but perhaps you’re in rebound overdrive. This occurs when you break up with someone, (or get dumped) and you immediately bounce to a new person to avoid the depression you were starting to slip into after the break-up. Then you repeat this routine with different people over and over again each time. It’s not cute, and borders on manic – so stop.

Until you actually figure out what went wrong in your previous relationships to some degree – or get to the point where you’ve learned something – stay home with Netflix or go out with your friends. Flying by the seat of your pants may not be working anymore.

Serial dating can be exciting and keep you busy, but if you’re looking for long-term love, you’ll need to slow down. No one can disagree that the beginning of a relationship can be the most thrilling and romantic time of all, but sooner or later you’re going to need to deal with the reality of life with someone instead of just jumping into relationships full-speed ahead every time.

If you don’t mind being a serial dater and you’re not serious about committing, then, by all means, do as you please, but make sure the other person is on the same page.

2. You’re Overly Insecure.

We all have flaws and we all have insecurities. But if you’re the type of person who obsesses over your flaws and feels the need for constant reassurance from others, you may not fair very well in the dating world.

Insecurity breeds jealousy, and too much of that is a relationship killer.

Dating can be scary. It’s basically like an audition or interview. If you’re constantly feeling like you’re not attractive enough, smart enough, or worthy enough in any type of way, things may get rough for you until you figure out how to get over these feelings.
Starting a relationship with an overly insecure person can be a nightmare for the other party involved. It’s a very high maintenance project to date someone who never feels they are good enough or has a chip on their shoulder.

If you have even a small inkling that you are the type of person who constantly complains about themselves or doesn’t go out places because of insecurity, then you should work on yourself before entering into another relationship. Take time to discover yourself. Travel somewhere, take a class, join a gym, discover some interests so that down the road you have more to offer in a relationship other than neediness and fear.

Generally, relationships work more efficiently when both people have a life outside of their relationship – which means activities they are involved with that bring them fulfillment beyond a romantic partner. That way, not all the self-esteem eggs are nestled in the hands of only one person.

Another plus to having outside interests beyond dating is that if the relationship doesn’t work out, at least there is something to fall back on so you don’t go completely off the rails after a break-up.

3. You’ve Been Dumped More Than Twice in a Row.

This may sound harsh – and yes – there are many reasons why people break up and it may also be a mutual thing. But if you’ve been claerly dumped more than twice in a row and you never saw it coming – it’s time to check yourself. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you per say, but it may be a good opportunity to re-evaluate how you’re behaving in your relationships.

A lot of us cruise around through life on automatic pilot and we’re not always in tune with other people’s feelings. This happens in the dating/relationship world as well. You may feel that you’re doing all the right things, saying all the right things, and giving plenty of yourself to a person. But are you really listening to them?

The art of a relationship includes the ability to listen. Not just hearing what someone says to you and taking from it what you want, but the actual work of listening to what someone says without turning it into something about yourself.

This is a common problem with all of us. We hear what we want, take from it what we want, and close the book. Many times, we don’t understand the intent behind the words. For instance, just for fun, let’s say you’re a woman and you’re dating a man you really like and he says to you, “Well if things got serious between us I could definitely see myself relocating.”

What a woman may hear is “I will change my life for you and move wherever you are.”

That’s not exactly what the man said. He said, “If things get serious,” meaning if we could let the relationship progress a little bit more then maybe a discussion about moving could be in the future.

Getting ahead of ourselves by not listening can end up with the unfortunate scenario of getting dumped over and over again.

Many of us go into the dating world with preconceived notions of what we want in a partner, and we are so busy ticking things off our mental list as the other person speaks, that we’re not even paying attention to them when they attempt to express who they really are.

This may not be an issue for you, but at least take a minute to think about it.

4. You Want Everything To Be About You.

The idea of dating is to screen for a new partner, hopefully, a long lasting one. If you’re in the market for someone to call, text, and be with you, then you’ll have to make room.

In this day and age with so many social media platforms, bloggers, and vloggers, it’s easy to get caught up in the “me” mentality. We are all selfish to some degree, but when in a relationship, it’s best to practice considering another person as well.

As much as you want your partner to bring all good things to the table, they are wanting the same thing from you.

Think about what you bring to a relationship. Think about your personality and how you react to circumstances – both positive and negative. Are you reliable? Are you honest? Are you a good listener? Do you have a bad temper? Are you insecure? Are you jealous? Are you affectionate? Do you want children? Do you already have children? And the list goes on.

While we all care about our own realities and have the instinct of self-preservation when in relationships one must try to expand outside the “me-box.”

Creativity can strike at any moment — make sure you’re prepared for it.

To help you do that, we created a functional backpack with the everyday artist in mind. Whether you’re going to school, embarking on a new adventure, or simply just exploring the world around you, take your passion with you.

We hope that this backpack becomes a home for the stories you love, the stories you’ve told and the stories you’ve yet to tell.